At least until the age of six to eight months, the sounds of a mother's voice and associated contact has a calming effect on most infants when they are agitated. In addition, infants like to be held close by their caregivers, typically the mother. The sound of the mother's heartbeat is expected to not only to calm infants when they are agitated but also to put them to sleep when they are tired.
When an infant is agitated and starts to cry, giving a toy to the infant may help in calming the infant. Similarly, when an infant is tired and needs to go to sleep, giving a toy to the infant sometimes helps the infant fall asleep. Part of the reason seems to be the role of a toy as a surrogate for the mother.
Experience and studies have also shown that having a calm baby, especially in times when mother and/or baby are tired can particularly result in a less stressful care giving experience for both mother and baby. Furthermore, first time mothers and postpartum mothers can sometimes get very frustrated and overwhelmed when a tired or achy baby does not readily fall asleep. Additionally, mothers with newborn babies and even some experienced mothers who get easily stressed due to an agitated baby are less likely to provide a nurturing and positive environment for the care of a baby.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.